My Reunion with Aunt Flo

Wow- this week was a toughie! My daughter was away at camp, work involved a gauntlet of hour long meetings, and I had the "stay in bed" cramps that coincided with the worst menstrual period of the year.

I have to say that since I have started exercising, my battle with bad periods has eased a bit, but this month anemia set in- and I was down for the count. Still looking back at the week, my new healthy habits held strong and I can walk away holding my head high as I near the end of it all.

What I did right:

• Went to bed by 10pm (6 out of 7 nights)
• Continued to attempt workouts; if only to walk/swim casually after experiencing dizziness
• Demonstrated self understanding and compassion
• Spent some time with my husband/family/friends
• Put some thought into workout schedule change (Allison goes back to school in one week)
  

What I could have done better:

• Resisted some of the emotional eating
• Blogged more (Next week I'll carry around a notebook so I can start writing during free time)
• Tracked more (Only did 4 full days)
  

I think what I am most proud of is that I was "self aware" this week. I maintained my emotions and knowingly made choices. I gave into some physical/emotional urges but never ate past my point of satisfaction. I continued to stay as active as possible given the conditions, and understood when my body wouldn't tolerate it. In other words, I embraced the "life" part of the program- which has definitely been my personal challenge. It's nice to know that my S didn't disappear off of my chest- I'm still pretty super!

Past Due Assignment -10 points!

So two weeks ago we were given a green index card and asked to identify an 8 week "New Years in July" goal.

Since I tend to be an over achiever, I worried and panicked as potential goals popped in and out of my head.

My gut instantly went to time management, as quite honestly I'm in a pretty good groove right now with the (eating right + activity = loss thing) but it is the (work + blogging + chores/errands = life thing) that keeps throwing me the curve balls.

In the perfect world I would: Go to bed early, get up and work out, get ready for work, then take Allison to school, work intently for 8 hours, come home make dinner while keeping up with my friends, help with homework while doing the dishes, walk the dog while listening to the news, shag a bit (news and politics make me randy!) rinse and repeat. (Sorry but I'm married now and have to be honest we shag on the rare occasion - since it is activity I think it applies!)

I could come up with a mild goal like track even better... but I know I would be cheating myself. So calling upon a previous "life lesson," I chose to pick one or two key goals... and focus on the tough stuff.

After ruminating for a week, I finally identified the 2 items and I've just completed week 1. Let's just call it what it was; a stretching and warm up week.

The first goal: Go to bed earlier. (Aim for 10:00pm)
I went to bed early 2 nights last week. Next week we are aiming for 4 weeknights! Should be easier since Allison is out of town. I also worked on my prerequisites. I spoke with Mike and together we will work to reduce bedtime TV and other late night non-activity activities.

The second goal: Blog Already!
I know blogging helps me figure things out and really helps me to see where I have been and where I am going. I've decided that rather than look for a topic to blog about- I'll actually just blog about whatever it is going on. After all, this blog is about journaling- not necessarily entertaining my giant audience of... 6 :) I'm hoping that the blogging thing will subsequently help me with the ruminating thing I seem to be very proficient at! Good thing we have hidden (or not so hidden) talents! So I'll aim for 2 blogs a week.

Alright- 12 minutes till bed time and it is seriously storming out! (Seriously afraid of lightening- so under the covers it is!)